2014 on Goodreads

Goodreads Year in Review

by Various

You've probably found your way to this book page because you read a lot and review the books you read on goodreads. If so, here's your chance to review your entire 2014 reading and reviewing history and post it on this page so that others can see what your reading year was like. Together, all the reviews of this title should make an interesting and varied catalogue of books to inspire other readers in 2015.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Memoir

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Rating & Review for 2014

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan
(B) 75% | More than Satisfactory | ⭐⭐⭐ – 01/18/2014
Notes: Perfunctory, like playing video games with cheat codes. Characters are empty shells of quirky garb and stock clichés.

The Artemis Fowl Files by Eoin Colfer
(B+) 78% | Good | ⭐⭐⭐ – 01/25/2014
Notes: Interesting though ultimately trivial. Would have greater effect if included with the novels as supplemental preludes.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
(B+) 79% | Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 02/01/2014
Notes: A prototype yet to find its footing; its complex, interview-heavy plot poker-faces all clues until a bursting end reveal.

Inferno by Dan Brown
(B) 74% | More than Satisfactory | ⭐⭐⭐ – 02/08/2014
Notes: Lucky Robert Langdon, always adventuring with sexy, brainy women awed by his knowledge of art and symbology.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
(A-) 83% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 02/11/2014
Notes: The literal corruption of youth by reality television. Forced into murder, thievery, treachery, and kissing to stay alive.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
(A-) 82% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 02/13/2014
Notes: It's about futility, and dealing with the unintentional effects of compliance, pretense, decency, altruism, and kissing.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
(B+) 78% | Good | ⭐⭐⭐ – 02/15/2014
Notes: Rather than tell an interesting story, it's meant above all to repulse us into reflection on the cruelty and horror of war.

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler
(B+) 76% | Good | ⭐⭐⭐ – 02/22/2014
Notes: Spends a lot of time building up elaborate red herrings; successor developments being progressively less compelling.

The Nightmare by Lars Kepler
(B+) 77% | Good | ⭐⭐⭐ – 03/14/2014
Notes: As before, the dust jacket hook is incidental and fleeting, purely a gateway and device to a less compelling main plot.

The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler
(B+) 78% | Good | ⭐⭐⭐ – 04/14/2014
Notes: Clever and on-point, it finally presents its detective as the main character rather than a mere component perspective.

Chinatown Angel by A.E. Roman
(C+) 65% | Almost Satisfactory | ⭐⭐ – 04/24/2014
Notes: Characters have no life to them. It's all about underscoring urban, ethnic and racial heterogeneity, and not much else.

The Superman Project by A.E. Roman
(C) 63% | Unsatisfactory | ⭐ – 05/08/2014
Notes: Detective Chico Santana doesn't really figure anything out himself, people just conveniently pop in and tell him stuff.

We'll Always Have Paris: Stories by Ray Bradbury
(B+) 78% | Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 05/19/2014
Notes: Mostly dialogues between two people, it's about relationships, memories and an America that doesn't exist anymore.

InterWorld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves
(B+) 76% | Good | ⭐⭐⭐ – 06/12/2014
Notes: A clever concept done too cookie-cutter to be anything special, with a hero too vanilla and ill-defined to be relatable.

The Silver Dream by Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves and Mallory Reaves
(B) 74% | More than Satisfactory | ⭐⭐⭐ – 07/13/2014
Notes: Small-scale and milquetoast, despite its epic ambition. Lacks the detailed mundanities that enliven imagined worlds.

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
(A-) 83% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 07/15/2014
Notes: Gaiman, like a chef savant boldly tossing supposedly dissonant ingredients into a pot, makes a heck of a tasty stew.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
(A-) 80% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 07/26/2014
Notes: Wherein the hero (twice) and villain share the same desire: deliverance from exile to a world they long to return to.

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
(A-) 82% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 08/08/2014
Notes: Wherein there are many meals, and nearly every important chat occurs in a restaurant, pub, or over tea and biscuits.

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
(A-) 81% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 10/10/2014
Notes: It was a frequent disappointment to find vernacular absent from the glossary, and otherwise indefinable by context.

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
(A-) 80% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 10/13/2014
Notes: James Bond, embittered professional killer, gambles on humanity and love, while we learn the intricacies of baccarat.

Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming
(A-) 80% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 11/01/2014
Notes: James Bond gets educated in numismatics, anthropology, marine biology and voodoo, while the series gets formula.

Moonraker by Ian Fleming
(A-) 84% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 11/10/2014
Notes: James Bond, dispirited office worker, awaits assignment and considers the empty, material life his profession affords.

Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming
(A-) 81% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 11/22/2014
Notes: James Bond fights evil American capitalists, escapes by road, air, rail and sea, and has his profanities bleeped in-text.

From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming
(A-) 83% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 12/07/2014
Notes: James Bond fights the 'soft life' but ironically becomes soft: ditching sense to reattain love, adventure and friendship.

Dr. No by Ian Fleming
(A-) 84% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 12/18/2014
Notes: James Bond teams with noble savages against aberrant hybrids: the trans-human recluse and his bi-racial henchmen.

Goldfinger by Ian Fleming
(A-) 83% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 12/28/2014
Notes: James Bond peels the snakeskin from the card-cheat to find a dragon in disguise, while lesbians make things difficult.

For Your Eyes Only by Ian Fleming
(A-) 81% | Very Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 12/31/2014
Notes: James Bond meets willful women who defy men, hunt men, shame men, lure men and kill men to varying outcomes.

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great idea, so thank you fionnuala for setting this up!

i read 290 books in 2014, so there's no way i'm gonna rank them all in order of appreciation - that way lies madness and all. but overall, it was a good year for reading.

here's how it broke down:



five stars: 52
four stars: 96
three stars: 110
two stars: 5
one star: 3
not rated: 24

books read at an author's request - 9
books read at a friend's request - 14
number of retweets or appreciative comments/emails from authors - 40
number of authors/spouses of authors who got a little cranky with me - 2
number of authors who tried to ruin my life - 1
number of authors who succeeded - 0

this year, i started reading for this program-thing, so i was required to read a ton of (75) books that i technically chose, but they were chosen from a selection over which i had no control, so it could have gone horribly, but overall it wasn't too bad, and it was actually a good experience to kind of be pushed out of my comfort zone. i also discovered the free tor shorts, which changed my life and exposed me to a bunch of great authors. plus this year, new books were released from some of my favorite authors: marlon james: a brief history of seven killings , tana french: the secret place, lauren beukes: broken monsters, sarah waters: the paying guests, heather o'neill: the girl who was saturday night, anne marie macdonald: adult onset, george elliott clarke: traverse, jill ciment: act of god and sara barron: the harm in asking. in the bittersweet category, it was also the year that some of my favorite series came to an end with burn and sunrise and dreams of gods and monsters. and in the saddest, there was the death of Graham Joyce.

so, a lot happened in the world of books.

and now i shall give out the awards! they have nothing to do with publication date, just "what i read this year" and all links will go to my review because YES, i'm that douchey. and it's all arbitrary and what i'm feeling at this very moment. it ain't science. i'm also not duplicating any of the books i mentioned above because they already got their shout-outs. I MAKE UP WEIRD RULES!

best new author-discovery:

Leigh Bardugo:

shadow and bone
siege and storm
ruin and rising
the witch of duva
the tailor
the too-clever fox
little knife

Adrianne Harun:

a man came out of a door in the mountain

Jennifer duBois

cartwheel

favorite book i read for that program that dares not speak its name:

cataract city
supernatural enhancements
gretel and the dark
bones & all
california
soil
do you think this is strange?
the girl on the train

most disappointing in terms of my own anticipation:

belzhar
everything is perfect when you're a liar
wild things
please god find me a husband
we were liars
the steady running of the hour
love & misadventure
solsbury hill
the yonahlossee riding camp for girls
duplex
so long, marianne
people i want to punch in the throat

best graphic novel:

the gigantic beard that was evil
revival v. 3: a faraway place
revival v. 4: escape to wisconsin

best kids book:

the dinosaur that pooped christmas
please, mr panda
who did it?
sometimes you barf
sparky
all four stars

best YA:

this is shyness
code name verity

best terrible romance:

shattered dreams
who's holding the baby?

funniest:

i work at a public library
motherfucking sharks
wtf, evolution?
reasons my kid is crying

best design:

horrorstor

best ridiculous book:

sharcano
dodgeball high

most improved sophomore novel after a debut i wasn't crazy about:

the life and death of sophie stark

best tor short:

burnt sugar
in the sight of akresa
midway relics and dying breeds
the horrid glory of its wings
homecoming
among the thorns
the hanging game
brimstone and marmalade
the walking-stick forest

best nonfiction:

what stands in a storm
ghettoside
how to be a heroine

best short story collection:

the dog
the woman who married a cloud
love and other wounds

best debut:

girl at war
everything i never told you
whisper hollow
brutal youth
the ploughmen

best titles:

hipster slave boy
fifty shades of grey pussy cats
malevolence, thy name is karen
the horny games trilogy
i've fallen and there's a tentacle in my butt

best book for a good cause:

hamsters

best book by an author who i have other books by but finally read something from and it wasn't even the one i already owned because i suck:

suffer the children
the true and splendid history of the harristown sisters
station eleven

and what you have all been waiting for

best monsterporn:

mounted by a monster: werepuffer
abducted by the alien beast
mounted by a monster: mirror mirror
monsters made me gay: yeti gangbang

oh, who am i kidding??

they are all amazing

so that was 2014. i look forward to seeing what all you people read in 2015.

[Fionnuala]

This write-your-own-version of 2014 on Goodreads was created and reviewed on January First, 2015 by Fionnuala Lirsdottir.

I started 2014 with the intention of reading mostly short stories. Instead, I picked up Miss MacIntosh, My Darling: Volume One, which, at almost 300 000 words, is probably one of the longest books I have ever read. It turned out to be just one of a series of very long books read in 2014.
Long and difficult as Miss MacIntosh is, it is tattooed on my heart forever, and ok, I suffered a bit while the tattoo was being done, but the book is one I have grown to love deeply - in retrospect.
In retrospect, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is definitely a major highlight of 2014 - every episode of that rambling raunchy tale is fresh in my memory even though I read it right at the beginning of the year.
At the beginning of the year, I also got through La Bibliothèque Oulipienne Volume I, a compendium of word games which was great fun and may have done something permanent to the way I read.
The way I read was about to be changed forever in any case because after Oulipo I picked up Finnegans Wake and turned off the spell checker on my computer - writing as well as reeding would narybee the seimagin.
Seeing and Imagination are themes that run through Guy Davenport's The Death of Picasso: New and Selected Writing, some of which I savoured this year.
This year also saw me revisiting the creativity of Flann O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds to watch the notion of narrative being tossed in the air like a ton of feathers.
Feathers remind be of one of the biggest surprises of my reading year, Raymond Federman, whose La Fourrure de Ma Tante Rachel and Double or Nothing entertained me royally.
Royalty, high places and falls from grace were themes in Jose Saramago's The Elephant's Journey, another very special read of 2014.
2014, coming as it did after a year spent reading Proust, meant I had lots of Proust related books to catch up on, and several other serendipitous reads such as The Sorrows of Young Werther and John Updike's Problems: And Other Stories, both of which just happened to focus on the theme of obsessive love, were an added reminder of my favourite author of 2013.
A reminder of another favourite author came with Doctor Faustus (although I had a serious falling-out with Mann's narrator), and I discovered several new potential favourite authors including Elena Ferrante with The Days of Abandonment, Gerald Murnane with The Plains and Inland, and William Gass - his Omensetter's Luck was a truly different reading experience.
In fact, I had amazing luck with most of my reading experiences; familiar authors such as Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, Jonathan Swift, Ali Smith were mostly satisfying while several new ones such as Leonard Woolf, J P Donleavy, Agota Kristof, Alan Lightman, as well as a few goodreads friends' books such as Verbivoracious Festschrift Volume One: Christine Brooke-Rose, Stamped Against the Night, The Absurd Demise of Poulnabrone and Vanishing Points surprised and pleased in varying degrees. Only about two or three of the entire fifty-five books I read in 2014 fell short.
Short stories? - yes, I did read some in the end and I intend to read some more in 2015...

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so far I understand the idea is to expose our reading experience during the 2014... so... let's buckle up!!! ... Here we go!!!


This stats, sums and personal awards are based solely in the books that I was able to read during 2014, not matter if they were published in that year or not.


2014 RATINGS' STATS

Books with 5 stars: 28

Books with 4 stars: 45

Books with 3 stars: 28

Books with 2 stars: 9

Books with 1 star: None

2014 Average Rating: 4 stars


2014 READINGS' STATS

Novels: 56

Comic books or Graphic Novels: 34

Reference/Research or Non-fiction: 9

Short stories or Anthologies: 11

2014 Reading Sum: 110 books
(and my 2014 Book challenge was 100 books)


2014 PERSONAL AWARDS

Best Novel:

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin


Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel:

Kick-Ass 3 by Mark Millar & John Romita, Jr.


Best Reference/Research or Non-Fiction:

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan


Best Short Story or Anthology:

The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal


Best Science-Fiction:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline


Best Horror:

Survivor by K.R. Griffiths


Best Detective:

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)


Best Romance:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


Best Media Tie-in:

Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon and Groot Steal the Galaxy! by Dan Abnett


Best Debut:

A Vision of Fire by Gillian Anderson


Best 2014 Book:

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin


--O--

READ. ANY BOOK. JUST READ.
AND ABOVE ALL, ENJOY IT WHILE YOU ARE DOING IT.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I mostly read science books, and found some very good ones. It was close, but I think my favorite was Susskind's "Theoretical Minimum" series ( Classical Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics ), which present the best introduction to quantum mechanics I've ever seen. Another outstanding book was Fry's The Emergence of Life on Earth . Peebles's Physical Cosmology and Principles of Physical Cosmology were very difficult but also very rewarding. Tegmark's Our Mathematical Universe was slightly insane but great fun.

I also spent some time catching up on philosophy texts that I should have read years ago; highlights included Plato's Protagoras and Symposium , Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and Rorty's Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature . Dennett's Breaking the Spell was a thought-provoking take on the nature of religion.

But despite my somewhat one-sided reading diet, the winner was still a work of fiction: Karl Ove Knausgård's 3500 page monster Min kamp , a unique book that's already well on the way to becoming a classic five years after it first came out. Trust me, it's worth all the trouble.
_____________________________________

Since everyone else is adding statistics, here are mine:

Number of books read: 108
Total number of pages: 26753
Books over 500 pages: 8
Books over 700 pages: 3
Nonfiction books: 51
Books by women: 28
Books not in English: 29 
 French: 13 
 Norwegian: 8 
 Swedish: 4 
 German: 3 
 Danish: 1

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I will call 2014 The Year I Pulled A Bunch of Books Off My Shelf and Actually Read Them.

Indeed, I have been making an effort to try and read books I already own, instead of getting distracted by new stuff (OOH! SHINY!) or checking out titles from the library on a whim.

I'm not going to list everything I read this year, but some books that I have been meaning to read for a while and finally finished in 2014 were:

City of Thieves by David Benioff -- I loved this caper novel set during the Siege of Leningrad.

The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud -- I reacted very strongly to this book about a single woman who is angry over how she was treated.

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich -- A well-reported look at the problems of minimum-wage earners in America.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot -- I was guilted into reading this because it was chosen as a Common Read book by my campus. But still, I finally read it and liked it, even though medical stories make me queasy.

God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens - A thoughtful synthesis of the arguments about religion.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall - An inspiring story of long-distance runners.

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn -- Best book about American history EVER.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - A fascinating look at the man who founded Apple, who was also a total jackass.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -- A classic that showed the workings of a Stalinist gulag.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt -- I was so relieved to have finished this beast of a novel.

I will also call this my Year of Bill Bryson, because I completed a stack of his books by listening to them on audio, which was a delight and made me laugh during some difficult times. Some favorites were In a Sunburned Country, Neither Here Nor There, One Summer, Notes from a Small Island, and A Short History of Nearly Everything.

2014 could also be the Year of the Audiobook, for I listened to 23 of them in 12 months. Some favorites were Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth, The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert, Last Words by George Carlin, As You Wish by Cary Elwes, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and Tina Fey's Bossypants.

I could also call 2014 The Year of Grief. Last spring we had a death in the family, and it knocked me sideways. I had trouble concentrating on books for a while, and what finally helped me get back on track were some Regency romances by Mary Balogh. So thank you, Mary.

Finally, I think 2014 will always be known to me as the Year of the New Job. I started work at a new campus in the fall, and the change threw off my reading for several months. But I think I've finally adjusted and am looking forward to some great books in 2015.

Stats:

Books read: 100

Books written by women: 50 (50 percent! And I wasn't even trying!)

Books published in 2014: 34 (A high percentage, but also a bit disappointing because some of the new stuff I read this year was crap. I'm looking at you, Lena Dunham and Emma Donoghue.)

Number of books considered classics: 9 (my goal is to read more of these)

Books in Translation: 2 (must do better)

Overall Favorites of the Year:
Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Favorite Rereads:
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
Emma by Jane Austen

Thanks to Fionnuala for the idea and the format!

[Kalliope · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Fionnuala published this book and her review, I thought it was a grand idea, and emulated her. My way of doing so, however, was to do so creating another book, authored by Spirally Kalliope. I got Likes (thank you) and Comments (double thank you).

GR deleted it, however, which I understand. But they did not warn me, which I do not understand.

Anyway, here it is, and as part of my signature, the Cover for the review is the Cover from the deleted book. Since in my reading of 2014, the Italian and Florentine Renaissance had figured prominently, this was my cover. The mosaic ceiling of the Florence Baptistry.. spiraled.

----------------





I am following Fionnuala’s wonderful idea, reviewing my reading activity in 2014. Looking back before engaging in the 2015 readings seems a healthy proposition. It will help in setting directions and which of the areas I have explored need further incursion.

A fair amount of my reading has been in Groups. I was invited to the Dante and Boccaccio group and reading The Divine Comedy has been one of the great realizations this year. It is such a key and difficult work. It merits revisiting. Boccaccio’s The Decameron was less engaging, but learning about him Boccaccio: A Critical Guide to the Complete Works and his The Elegy of Lady Fiammetta were certainly worthwhile. This has left me with a visit to Petrarch pending. May be for 2016.

In groups or independently I have also concentrated on several writers of either Austrian or Germanic stock. These were: Stefan Zweig, with his memoirs and several of his novellas; the captivating Joseph Roth; some Franz Kafka; and Rilke, Rainer Maria. A group continued with the exploration of Thomas Mann from 2013 and we read his Doctor Faustus The Faust theme took me to reread the original Anonymous piece as well as Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and with Banville's original Mefisto. This leaves Goethe on my horizon.

A major project and achievement was Joyce. I started with his A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners, and before going any further I went back to classical times to revisit Homer to wet my feet and be able to jump into Ulysses. This theme will continue in 2015 with a bio of Joyce and may be I will start sniffing FW.

2014 was of course the Centennial of WW1 and we started a group that is still going. I read mostly during the first half of the year -- about five books. The best were The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 and The War That Ended Peace: The Road To 1914, and on the period leading up to the war The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914. I want to continue these reads. Zweig and Joyce in a way belonged to this project too.

It is impossible for me not to read several art books. Some followed my trip to Venice and Padua in 2013, with Giotto and Carpaccio. But I also read on Cézanne (and here my Rilke links in), Turner, Sargent, and a couple of books on the color Blue (which meant my first Gass) On Being Blue and Blue: The History of a Color.

As a Proustian, he lingers in my life but I only read two books relating to him. One of an academic bent Proust And The Victorians: The Lamp Of Memory and one with a stunning personal dimension Proust contre la déchéance. Conférence au camp de Griazowietz. I plan more Proustian reads for 2015.

An art trip to Tuscany trigged a fair amount of reading of both history and art related to the Florentine Renaissance. I may have read about ten books on this, with the Medici The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall, Cellini The Autobiography Of Benvenuto Cellini and Burckhardt The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy to mention just a few of the marvelous array. Of course the Dante and Boccaccio tied in beautifully.

In between the themes I also visited some loose reads. Some of these were: Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini: una fiaba nascosta, Vain Art of the Fugue, Marías' The Man of Feeling, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gulliver's Travels, Balzac's Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu (and this linked with my Art reading), Too Loud a Solitude, and some historical fiction with How to be both and The Subtlest Soul (which tied in with my Tuscany reading).

But I read very little on music. My only read was Ravel and this I certainly want to correct in 2015.

Anyway, very satisfied with my 2014 reading and very excited with 2015... and to the writing of my review of 2015 on Goodreads

[Mohammad · Rating 5 out of 5]

اوائل سال 2014 کتاب بادبادک باز رو شروع کردم
صبحها تو یک مسیر طولانی که به یک کار لعنتی ختم میشد ، توی مینی بوس و سرما این کتاب رو میخوندم
از 6 صبح میرفتم سرکار تا حدوداً ساعت 10 شب و هیچ روزی هم تعطیلی نداشتم ، تنها دلخوشیم این بود که تو وقتای بیکاریم و رفت و آمدم بتونم کتاب بخونم ، آره تنها دلخوشیم خوندن کتاب بود
تو اون جمعی که باهشون بودم همیشه مسخرم میکردن که شماهایی که کتاب میخونین آخر دیوونه میشین ، چه فایده داره این همه وقت بذاری نوشته های یک نفر دیگه رو بخونی ، چشمات ضعیف میشه ، فکر میکنی خیلی میفهمی ، ادای روشنفکرا رو درنیار و ازین دست مهملات.
زندگی برام به منتهای سختی رسیده بود ، شبها که برمیگشتم خونه میومدم گودریدز و بین کتابا سیر میکردم ، بین یک بهشتی که فقط چند لحظه در روز میتونستم ازش بهره ببرم ،کم کم گودریدز باعث شد بیشتر بخونم ، حالت یک محرک دائمی رو داشت ، باعث میشد نمیرم ! باعث شد قدر هر لحظم رو بدونم
طی این مدت کوتاهی که برای خوندن داشتم و شوق خوندن از سراپای وجودم شعله میکشید ، یکم به خودم فکر کردم ، به خودم فکر کردم ، فکر کردم واقعا به دنیا اومدم که فقط دنبال پول باشم ؟ تمام زندگیم ،تمام لحظاتی که میتونست هر کدومش برام لذت بخش باشه رو دارم پای چی میذارم ؟ پای پول ؟ پای خواسته های دیگران ؟ پای حرف مردم ؟
این افکار تو سرم موج میزد ، با خوندن هر کتاب تقویت میشد ، با دیدن لحظاتی که از دستم میرفت و چیزی در قبالش بدست نمیاوردم ، میسوختم.
فشار کار زیاد شد ، زورگویی ها هم بیشتر شد ، وقتی کسی پشتت نباشه میشی دیوار کوتاه ، دیواری که همیشه بایدخراب بشه تا دیوار دیگران سالم بمونه
یک روز واقعا خسته و دلزده بودم که یک گنج بدستم رسید ، یک گنجی که هیچوقت فراموشش نمیکنم.خونه ی یکی از دوستام توی کتابخونش یک کتاب زرد رنگی بود که برگه هاش در آستانه پودرشدن بودند
اون بالای بالا بود – واقعا هم لیاقت اون بالا رو داشت - ، کتاب رو برداشتم :
نوشته بود : زوربای یونانی ، نیکوس کازانتزاکیس ، محمد قاضی
کتاب رو ازش امانت گرفتم و شروع به خوندنش کردم ، بین صفحات کتاب غرق شدم ، عاشق منش زوربا شدم ، شاید کازانتزاکیس این کتاب رو فقط برای من نوشته ! هیچوقت ، واقعا هیچوقت یادم نمیره این کتاب مسیر زندگیمو عوض کرد ، وقتی زوربا رو دیدم که با بی خیالی خاص خودش ، با اخلاق بی نظیر خودش ،فقط فقط برای دل خودش زندگی میکنه ، گفتم چرا من این کارو نکنم ؟ چرا من یک زوربای دیگه نشم ، زوربایی که بتونه شاد باشه و راحت زندگی کنه ؟چرا همه چیمو پای چیزی بذارم که داره همه چیزمو ازم میگیره ؟
زوربا رو دو بار خوندم ، سریع هم تمومش کردم ، فردای روزی که تموم شد ، برگه استعفام رو میز مدیر اونجا گذاشتم، مسخرم میکرد ، میگفت همینجا هستی جایی نمیری ، مجبوری که اینجا کار کنی ،تهدیدات رو برو برای یکی دیگه بکن و هزارتا حرف دیگه.
ولی ، ولی واقعا فرداش نرفتم ، خودمو آزاد کردم ، روحم رو از رنجی که میشکید رهاش کردم ، وارد یک جشن بیکران شدم ، یک عیش مدام. به حرف هیچکسی هم اهمیت ندادم ، فهمیده بودم اگر برای حرف دیگران زندگی کنم ، در واقع دارم روحمو به اونها میفروشم و روح من بازیچه دست اونها میشه و وقتی دیگه اهمیتی واسشون نداشتم پرتم میکنن به جایی که هیچوقت دیگه نتونم خودمو پیدا کنم ، به ورطه فراموشی ، به باتلاق تباهی.
یک مدتی بیکار بودم ، از صبح تا شب فقط میخوندم ، مثل کسی بودم که سالها تو یک سیاهچال باشه و حالا آزاد شده باشه ، خورشید و آزادی رو نفس میکشیدم ، روشنایی و لذت رو توی برگای کتابا پیدا میکردم ، چنان از خودبیخود میشدم که کلمات احاطه م میکردن ،منو تو خودشون میگرفتن ، مثل یک فرزند تو آغوش مادر و میبردنم به اوج آسمونا ، به انتهای دنیا ،به بخشندگی خورشید ، به زیبایی ماه ، به آخر غم به اول خوشی .
از هر لحظم استفاده میکردم ، با خودم میگفتم شاید این آخرین کتابیه که داری میخونی ، پس با تمام وجود بخونش ، شاید فردای روزی که این کتاب تموم شد تو هم تموم شدی.شاید جرقه بین دوتاریکی فردا خاموش بشه.
تو این مدتی که بیکار بودم هیچوقت ناراحت نشدم و هیچوقت هم ناامید نشدم ، میدونستم یکی هست که دنبالم میگرده به این فکرم ایمان داشتم ، روزی که شور زندگی ونگوگ رو میخوندم بهم زنگ زدن ، یک پیشنهاد کار ، بدون اینکه روحم خبر داشته باشه ، بدون اینکه بدونم همچین جایی هم هست واسه کار کردن ، همون کاری که آرزوشو داشتم ، رقص صداها رو میدیدم ، صداهایی رو که نوید یک خوشی رو میدادن ، نوید تموم شدن بیگاری رو ، و شروع خوب زندگی من با پایان تلخ زندگی ون گوگ مصادف شد.
بعد ازاینهمه چیزای بی ربطی که نوشتم میخواستم بگم زندگی پول نیست زندگی بودن ��نارای کسایی که تو رو میفهمن و درکت میکنن ،زندگی یعنی یک فرصت محدودی که فقط فقط با خوندن زیبا میشه ، زندگی یعنی بودن با کتاب و مردن با کتاب
تو این یک سال دوستای خیلی خوبی پیدا کردم که هیچکدومشون رو از نزدیک ندیدم و تنها دلیلی دوست داشتم دوستم باشن افکار و اندیشه های اونها بود ، یعنی متعالی ترین حالت دوستی
از همه تون متشکرم ، چیزای زیادی ازتون یاد گرفتم و با اندیشه های زیبایی آشنا شدم.از خانم علایی هم بابت این پیشنهاد تشکر میکنم.
از گودریدز هم ممنونم که فرصتی رو فراهم آورده ، تا آدمهایی از یک جنس و از یک فکرن بتونن لحظه ای کنار هم باشن و راحت حرف دلشون رو بزنن.

[Nataliya]

2014 was a pretty good year, reading-wise. 79 books marked as read, a few more re-reads not making the list, some wonderful new discoveries and revisiting some old favorites.

Best discoveries:

- I think my favorite discovery this year - and I'm not in the least ashamed to admit it - was The Martian by Andy Weir. This was the book that I listened to on audiobook TWICE immediately after reading it; the treasure chest of dorky humor that seemed to have been written just for me. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

- Another wonderful and unexpected discovery was a stellar Hugo and Nebula nominated novella by Kij Johnson The Man Who Bridged the Mist. Wonderful writing, exploring the 'invisible web of connections' between people and the immense changes that our actions can bring to the world.

- An unexpected favorite by Connie Willis was Doomsday Book. Something about this book just hit the right note - the part of me that dorks out over the medieval history. Well, to be completely honest, only half of this book won my heart and half of it was exasperatingly irritating - but the "medieval" parts of it were enough to add it to the list of my favorites. The audiobook version of it is pretty good, too - since I read it and listened to it, thus reading the same book twice in a year.

- With gleeful fascination I read (or rather, inhaled) Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October, a wickedly smart and funny Halloween read, full of quirky humor, clever references and overall brilliance of the storytelling genius.

Other unexpected treasures:

- Jo Walton's My Real Children, a slightly sci-fi flavored chronicle of two lives of a same woman, ending on a perfect unfinished note that still gets me thinking.

- John Windham's The Day of the Triffids, which has a quite interesting take on what it takes to destroy the civilization and what it takes to bring back a semblance of it.

The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell - because sometimes I just have to get my Southern noir fix.

- John Scalzi's Redshirts and Lock In, both of which were a great introduction to this author.

- China Mieville's short story Polynia, which once again reminded me how badly I want His Chinaness to write another book to fulfill my Mieville craving. C/mon - giant floating icebergs that extend into a place (time? space?) that none of us save for a few vanished explorers cannot see? I want more!

- The Secret Place by Tana French, a long-awaited entry in the series that specializes in shattering your soul and snapping every heartstring.

- Jim Butcher's Skin Game - because I'm a die-hard Harry Dresden fan, 'nuff said.

- Stephen King's Revival. This Constant Reader is quite happy.

The bad and the ugly:

This year had a few disappointments as well.

- It started with The Graduate, which completely lacked all the humanity that made the film based on it a cult classic; the book was an empty soulless shell that took the pleasure out of reading.

- There was also Transcendence, a hilariously sappy 'Twilight' fanfic that made me giggle and roll my eyes at the same time - after all, there's nothing like an unwashed wordless love story in a cave!

- Then there was Dorothy Must Die, a pretty bad execution of a quite good concept.

- The Maze Runner was the final disappointment of the year, full of plot contrivances, ridiculous slang and the terminal cases of Special Snowflake-ness.


Favorite rereads:

- Terry Pratchett's Thud!
- Evgeny Zamyatin's We
- Antoine St. Exupery's The Little Prince
- And a wonderful collection that makes me fall in love with short stories all over again: The Best Short Stories of O.Henry


The books that I loved and absolutely HAVE to review - but lack the appropriate words and inspiration:
- Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
- The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric
- The Birthday of the World and Other Stories by Ursula K. LeGuin
- Among Others by Jo Walton
- The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones

-----------
Great reading year. 2015 has a lot to live up to.

[Cecily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm joining the bandwagon of Fionnuala's idea for looking back at my reading over the last year. The result is to crystalise my joy at what I've read, and appreciation of my friends here on GR.

Overall, I've read some wonderful things this year, and the very best was last: Stoner, but I immediately started rereading, so it's still flagged as "currently reading", and awaiting a review.

I read in my usual, undirected way: it was mostly fiction, and mostly novels, but there was no overriding theme, and I have no specific plans as to what to read in 2015.

I rated more than half of my readings as 4*, which is high for me, and only one was 1*: When She Woke (good concept, lousily executed).

Of my nine 5* reads, all but one were either rereads or recommendations from GR friends. I like that balance of old friends and new. Discussions with GR friends have also made me see new aspects and gain greater understanding of many books. This is what I love about my GR friends.

Fiction Highlights of 2014

"Stoner". A 5* rating is far less than it deserves. It is the most painfully exquisite book I have read; I'm still processing it, as I reread it. It is utterly wonderful. A huge "thank you" to Steve, whose review was the main reason I read it. My only worry now is whether I dare read anything else by Williams, as it surely can't be as good.

Steve also prompted me to take The God of Small Things off my shelf and actually read it. That was another 5* read, and I had some wonderful conversations with people about the book, and about a culture and setting of which I know very little.

"The Bone Clocks"... This is David Mitchell's new book, and turned out to be a sort of sequel to 4* The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet which I reread afterwards. I had very mixed feelings. It wasn't what I expected or, really, wanted, but it was compelling, and the more I wrote about it and discussed it with GR friends, the richer I realised it was, despite it not being quite to my taste. Nevertheless, my ambivalence, coupled with an inability to be brief, meant I wrote two reviews with different ratings: The Bone Clocks 3* detailed and The Bone Clocks 4* spoiler-free.

Although I generally prefer the sustenance of a novel, I was struck by the powerful punch of three, very different, 4* short stories:
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a haunting parable by Ursula Le Guin about the price we pay for happiness.
The Egg by Andy Weir is only a couple of pages, but is about the purpose of life - and the answer is not 42.
Christina Rosetti's Goblin Market is a hypnotic and sensuous poem about temptation, with fairytale qualities.

I cemented my love for China Mieville (a relationship that got off to a VERY rocky start a few years ago) with the epic 5* Perdido Street Station.

I read my first Murakami, Dance, Dance, Dance, and saw the links with David Mitchell, giving it 4*.

Angela Carter was a name I knew, but now I love. I read a riot of a novel, Wise Children 4* and some luscious adult fairy tales, The Bloody Chamber 5* as well as her short telling of Bluebeard 4* to tie in with Jane Eyre 5*. And now I realise my reading was not quite as "undirected" as I first said, because those led me to Vonnegut's utterly different Bluebeard 4* about US abstract expressionism, and because I'd read Jean Rhys' prequel to Jane Eyre, at the end of 2013, I read her semi-autobiographical Voyage in the Dark 3*.

I love the cold beauty and contrasting humour of Kafka, but had neglected him. I returned to Metamorphosis and other Stories and remain in awe of the man's range and insight.

Annie Proulx was known to me from reading The Shipping News in 2013 and via the film of Brokeback Mountain, but in 2014, I finally read it, along with the shamefully overlooked 4* novel, Postcards .

I reread Middlesex 4* and, six years after I first read it, saw the deeper truths. It's about transitions - of every kind. It is powerful and relevant to all. Including me. Change is afoot.

There were a couple of other 5* reads:

One was Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald. It captured a strange and fascinating community of boat dwellers in 1960s London. Like Middlesex, it was all about change.

The other was by Arnold Bennett, who is one of my favourite authors: Anna of the Five Towns is a little gem that encapsulates a singular woman in difficult circumstances.

There was of course, some Mervyn Peake. I reread Gormenghast and saw a stage production of it. I also enjoyed a trio of his children's books: A Book of Nonsense and Captain Slaughterboard and Figures of Speech, as well as some of his art: Writings and Drawings and Sketches from Bleak House.

I reminded myself why I should read at least one Iris Murdoch a year with 4* An Unofficial Rose. I love the machinations of her cast.

I also reacquainted myself with two authors of whom I'd only read one (excellent) book previously:
Rebecca West's beautifully written 4* coming of age novel set at the cusp of WW1, This Real Night.
Marghanita Laski's chilling psychological 4* drama The Victorian Chaise Longue.

Creepy in an entirely different way was Michel Faber's 3* Under the Skin. Very different in genre, style, tone and my liking from his utterly wonderful The Crimson Petal and the White.

2015 will feature the first birthday that I've had mixed feelings about, so reading Julian Barnes' collection The Lemon Table was perhaps a poor choice, as the stories all concern aspects of ageing - not in an especially negative way, and they're beautifully written, but I'm not sure I want to be reminded of such things.

Non-Fiction

My small dose of non-fiction was more diverse:

I was thrilled and amused and touched by the memoirs of a friend, Blown Like a Leaf 4*, and I shamelessly commend it to you.

E O Parrott's 4* How to Become Ridiculously Well-read in One Evening is a wonderful comic literary diversion for dipping into, though contrary to the title, you need to be reasonably well read in the first place to appreciate it.

The First Emperor: Selections from the Historical Records was fascinating, not just for the Chinese history, much of which was broadly familiar, but for the novel attitude to history itself: "official" history related as anecdotes, parables, opinion, dialogue, political ideology.

Disappointments

"The Bone Clocks" might have been, but definitely wasn't.

However, other tried and tested authors were: I've given up on Ishiguro after reading Nocturnes.

Atwood's final episode of the trilogy that started so well with Oryx and Crake wasn't really worth the time or paper (MaddAddam).

I'm not sure if I've changed or Updike has, but the misogyny and homophobia of A Month of Sundays was unsavoury.

I also read the well-reviewed Marriage Material on the basis that it was a good reworking of Arnold Bennett's wonderful Old Wives' Tale; it wasn't.

Looking ahead to 2015

There's plenty on my TBR pile, and positions on it will change, partly at the prompting of people reading this. The only thing I know for sure is that when I finish rereading and reviewing Stoner, I will go to something old - specifically, Trollope's Orley Farm. Other than that, I'll see what takes my fancy and when, but it's likely to include a second Murakami.

I do wonder if I should strive to write more succinct reviews in 2015 - if only to leave more time for reading. But then again, I'm reminded of the old chestnut, attributed to many writers, "I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn't have the time"! I suspect I have to accept that brevity is not my strong point.


I've just noticed that this is my 500th review on GR. It seems a suitable one for such a milestone.

[Ted]

a year of reading ...


This (book? review?) is a narrative. As such it embraces Truth in a way that it would not, were it a dry cataloging of fact.

A year of reads, split evenly (almost) between fiction and "fact" (non-fiction).

January started with a bang, three great novels: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Troubles and Stoner. February was highlighted by (finally) finishing an important Worldwatch book, State of the World 2013 Is Sustainability Still Possible. March winds brought war, a classic novel I'd never read: All Quiet on the Western Front. April's highlight was a book that I wish everyone would read: The Spirit Level Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger. May linked me up with an unforgettable Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Profoundly beautiful and poetic prose on the natural world and a personal pilgrimage. In June Margaret Randall introduced me to Che on My Mind; and even though "My Mind" means Margaret's mind, she firmly planted Che in Ted's mind too. Thanks for your heartfelt, introspective musings on Che, Margaret.

The hot days of summer brought lighter fare.

In July I finally read another classic for the first time, Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. August was made bearable by two light hearted books by Lee Klein, Incidents of Egotourism in the Temporary Worldand Thanks and Sorry and Good Luck. In September I got down to work again with The Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution. (Lord, I hope I can finish the review soon.) October brought another great non-fiction book, Countdown Our Last Best Hope For a Future on Earth; and, by a new author for me, James Salter's novel All That Is. I will always remember November (I hope) for finishing Tolstoy's magnificent War and Peace. And finally, December ended the year on a contemplative and very positive note with Science and Human Values.

Looking forward to next year’s edition from Fionnuala!

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just realized I never did a 2014 year in review. As I prepare to do my 2017 year in review, here is a look back on 2014.

Only my second full year on Goodreads. I only give it 4 starts because I didn't have a whole lot of 5 star reads that year. But, I was also lucky that I didn't have any 1 star reads!

Below is a format I started with my 2016 review and I like the general visualization it gives.

Best book this year:
Worst book this year:
Pleasant surprises:
Expected more:
Series I liked:
Series I hated:

[Jonathan]

20 best reads of the year (of about 160 or so read):

John the Posthumous
The Mystery of the Sardine
Another governess the least blacksmith
Ancient history
Lookout Cartridge
The Stones of Summer
Finnegans Wake
Miss MacIntosh My Darling
Women and Men
Take Five
Heartsnatcher
The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman
Turtle Diary
Take it or leave it
George Mills
Beyond the Bedroom Wall
Lillelord
Seiobo there below
Against the Day
Apikoros Sleuth


This was a year full great big mammoth tomes for me, and a year in which I discovered a number of books which quickly became most beloved.

I was pulled along by the Wake for 6 months or so, exploring and listening and talking with others on this wonderful site. i am certain I will be re-reading it for the rest of my life.

Women and Men completed my run through McElroy's works - I am convinced of his place as one of the greatest living writers.

After spending so much time with the Postmodernists, and living pretty exclusively post-WWII, I will be spending 2015 in the company of the Modernists - with a particular focus on the buried and the marginalised texts. This will hopefully tie in nicely with the "year of reading women" as, unsurprisingly, a large portion of the most neglected books from this period are by women. It is going to be fun.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★ Best and worst books of 2014 ★★

→Inspired by Kat's post←




►Number of books read: 198

♦ 5-star ratings: 40
♦ 1-star ratings: 17
♦ DNFs: 8

40 books rated 5 stars! 40! There goes my bad girl reputation^^

►Genre you read the most: UF & fantasy

►Best books read in 2014:
Any book in the Kate Daniels series



►Worst/most disappointing books I read in 2014:


►Book that made me want to unleash my rage:


►Surprisingly good books:


►Books I pushed the most people to read:


►Best series I discovered in 2014:
♦ Kate Daniels - the best there ever was, the best there ever will be.
♦ Descent
♦ The Veil
♦ Fever
♦ Prospero's War
♦ Fallen Siren
♦ Chicagoland Vampires

►Best first books in a series:


►Best last books in a series:


►Best book from a genre I don't typically read:
Romance – YA - Comics


►Most action-packed/unputdownable books:


►Books I'm most likely to reread in 2015:
♦ Anything by Ilona Andrews
♦ Descent

► Best new authors I discovered in 2014:
♦ Ilona Andrews
♦ Pippa DaCosta
♦ SM Reine

►Most memorable characters of 2014:
→ My snarky, ass-kicking, hard-as-nails girls.
♦ Kate Daniels
♦ Elise Kavanagh
♦ Muse
♦ Kate Prospero
♦ Merit
♦ Emma Monroe

►Coolest book covers:


►Silliest book covers:


►Most beautifully written book:


►Books I can't believe I waited until 2014 to read:


►Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year:
Derek & Ascanio


►Best book I read in 2014 based solely on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure:
♦ The Veil series – Thanks Lanie!

►2014 book boyfriends:
Don't expect to find cute, romantic types here. These guys are aggravating, overbearing, stubborn, irritating and on the possessive side. They can be real assholes too. Yummy.

♦ JZB: because he holds the cure to being Pryia.
♦ Ryo: because I want to be on his breakfast menu.
♦ Curran: not because he's blond *gasps*
♦ Roman the Riveting Russian Rake: because, well, he's a sexy rake.
♦ Judd the iced-up Psy: because I like it when he melts.
♦ Drew Freaking Evans: because reasons. And he makes me laugh.
♦ Mad Rogan: because I want him to show me what being Tactile means.

Thanks for making 2014 such a memorable reading year guys… and for putting up with me day in, day out^^

[Liz* Fashionably Late]

Inspired by Kat's post.

Best Books I've Read In 2014



Outlander: Because of Claire's journey. And Jamie, the ultimate book boyfriend.

Persuasion: Because Jane Austen knows how to melt my heart with just a letter.

Quintana of Charyn: Because Melina Marchetta is fucking genius and the love of my life. And I love Lumatere.

The Martian: Because Mark deserves to live more than you and me.

Magic Strikes: Because WRITERS. And CURRAN. And BATHTUB SCENE.

Tower Lord: Because Mr Ryan knows how to write HF. And people should know how awesome he is.


Book I Was Excited About & Thought I Was Going To Love More But Didn’t

This was really boring.


Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book I read in 2014

In a good way.


Best series I started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014

Kate Daniels Series.


Favorite new author I discovered in 2014

Ilona Andrews Hands down.


Best book from a genre I don’t typically read/was out of my comfort zone

Because a threesome is too much for Liz.


Best Re-read in 2014

The first five books.


Most memorable character of 2014

Mark (The Martian)


Most beautifully written book read in 2014

Lau's rec! (:


Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014

Believe it or not.


Book I can’t believe I waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read

How awesome is this chick?


Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book I Read In 2014

“Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own.”

Shortest & Longest Book I Read In 2014

4 pages vs. 850 pages. Both epic.


OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Karou & Akiva Dreams of Gods & Monsters Will ship them till the end of days.


Best Book I Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure.

Sexy times everybody!


Books I Regret Reading AKA The Worst of 2014



Shatter Me: Because not because my head was about to explode to explode to explode. I don't know, maybe. Yes, feelings. I'm fragil. Not. I'm one hundred twenty six pieces of gum and he's chewing me.

A Really Awesome Mess: Because you can't just joke about serious shit.

Crystal Cove: Because Kleypas shouldn't play with Paranormal.

Iced: Don't get me started.

Magnolia: Because rich people need to get their shit together.

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Amir · Rating 4 out of 5]

بخش زیادی از سال 2014 رو تو خدمت گذروندم و همین باعث شد که وقت زیادی داشته باشم برای کتاب خوندن. توی آسایشگاه افسرها چون خاموشی زود زده می‌شد مجبور شدم پدیده‌ی جدیدی رو وارد زندگیم کنم که اتفاق خوش‌یمنی بود برام؛ کتاب‌های صوتی
...
شب‌ها برای فرار از صدای خر و پف هم‌خدمتی‌ها چه انتخابی می‌تونست از کتاب صوتی داستان‌های هزار و یک شب بهتر باشه؟
:]

بعدها که از آسایشگاه اومدم بیرون و خونه گرفتم، وقتی صبح‌ها می‌خواستم برم پادگان بزرگ‌ترین دغدغه‌م این بود که آخه تو این کله‌ی سحر کدوم آدم احمقی پیدا میشه که بیاد بیرون، اون هم برای هم‌چین کاری. برای همین و برای این‌که ازین دور باطل سیسوفوسی خارج شم تنها راه این بود که از در خونه که می‌زدم بیرون تا خود بی‌آرتی‌ها و بعد توی خود بی‌آرتی و بعد تا خود در پادگان همون‌جور که پیاده می‌رفتم کتاب بخونم.
بنا براین اگه طی سال گذشته ساعت پنج و نیم صبح یه شب‌گرد احمق رو تو اون نور کم دیدین که داره موقع پیاده‌روی کتاب می‌خونه من بودم
:]
(بعدها خوندم که عباس صفاری هم تجربه‌های مطالعه در حین پیاده‌روی داشته و همین جراتم رو بیشتر کرد تا از این عمل شنیعم پرده‌برداری کنم!)و
و
دیگه این‌که امسال کلی دوست خوب توی گودریدز پیدا کردم. گودریدز عزیز از موقعی که از فیلتر خارج شده حسابی رونق پیدا کرده و کلی عضو جدید بهش اضافه شده. کم کم داریم میشیم یه خونواده‌ی بزرگ و خواستنی. قشنگی کار هم این‌جاست که همه‌مون از پیر و جوون و درشت و کوچیک جمع شدیم دور هم تا حداقل به خودمون ثابت کنیم تنها نیستیم. حداقل یه جای دلمون قرص باشه که بین این همه آدمی که هر روز می‌بینیم کسایی هم هستن که عین ما کله‌شون بوی قرمه‌سبزی میده. یه جای دلمون قرص باشه که کلی دیوونه مثل خود آدم این‌جا هستن که یکی از بزرگ‌ترین کابوس‌هاشون نداشتن وقت برای خوندن همه‌ی کتاب‌های دوست‌داشتنی لیست یا کتاب‌خونشونه.
به سلامتی این خونواده‌ی دوست‌داشتنی
:)

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Kat Stark for pointing me in the direction of this topic, and for linking to a long survey to help me organize my choices.( I already did a top 10 by genre on my home page, but it wasn't as much fun)

Survey:
1) Best Book You Read In 2014?



2) Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?



3) Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?



4) Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?



5) Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?

best series started:

best sequel:

best ender:

6) Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?



7) Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

travel memoirs :

8) Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?



9) Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?



10) Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?

comic book :

11) Most memorable character of 2014?

Marco Polo in two separate books: and

12) Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

toughest choice :

13) Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?



14) Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?



15) Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?

... your lights are all lit then where do you go with your lamp? My house is all dark and lonesome – lend me your light. (a passage from from Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore, used in Tales from Firozsha Baag))

16) Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

shortest:

longest:

17) Book That Shocked You The Most.



18) OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)



19) Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year.

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin :

20) Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously.



21) Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure.



22) Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?



23) Best 2014 debut you read?



24) Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?



25) Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?



26) Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?



27) Hidden Gem Of The Year?



28) Book That Crushed Your Soul?



29) Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?



30) Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?




what else can I choose:
favorite genre : still fantasy
re-reads: only about three out of 125
favorite comic book:
favorite non-genre: tie between and
razzle award for 2014:

[Jo ★The Book Sloth★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 2014 in Goodreads Stars



Books read in 2014:


My favorite genre is Romance so almost all of the books belong in that genre and its sub-categories.

Books re-reads in 2014: Probably just as many. I'm a re-reads whore and make no apologies. ;)

Favorite 2014 books:



DNFs in 2014: 4

Book I thought I'd love but didn't:



Most surprising book in a good or bad way:

(Good way) (Bad way)

Best 1st in series, best sequel, best series ender:

, ,

A new favorite author:

Eli Easton

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year:



Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

This question is kind of crazy for me since I'll probably re-read plenty of them but the first in my mind is...


Tear-jerker of the year:



Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously.



Worst book of the year:



As you can see my favorite author this year was Ilona Andrews and rightly so. Their books definitely made this year awesome.

2014 Book Boyfriends:

Wanna have sex with: Rogan
Wanna have a fam with: Curran
Wanna have one night stand with: Hugh (don't judge)
Wanna have as a friend: Mal

Hope 2015 is just as great book-wise as 2014, but even the bad ones are better with all you great book-nerds to read my rants!;)

PS. Stole the questions from the awesome Kat.

[Geoff]

The year passed, as years tend to do, in the land of the living… I read a few books, but I try to keep my goals silent and to myself in case I do not meet them, so I won’t be embarrassed too greatly by my failures… this is not the case here specifically, as you will see... Finnegans Wake was and will be the reading experience that stays the most with me from this year, as it was a long-time goal and a large, long-term effort on my part. I’d say I gave it a close reading, and got as much as was possible out of it for my first run through. I plan to live with the book, keep it in my thoughts, bring it out into my world as I crawl on.


Other significant reading experiences from this year were Mason & Dixon and Against The Day by Pynchon. I had not read Pynchon before late 2014, but those two books now feel like they have settled into the category of greatest-of-all-time reads. I think about both of them almost daily. I look forward to Gravity’s Rainbow early this year. Vollmann’s Europe Central was also a major reading experience and undertaking for me. His Last Stories was probably my favorite contemporarily published book (I probably didn’t read any other book published this year, come to think of it…) but for some reason it hasn’t stuck with me to the extent Europe Central did. Why some things stick and some don’t is mysterious to most of us...


Raymond Federman’s body of work is a great find, I’ve loved everything I’ve encountered from him, he is pure reading bliss and energy, and I will attempt to completionize him in 2015. That’s achievable.


I started and gave up on Heidegger this year, but I’d like to return to him, for as ill-equipped as I am to undertake Being and Time, the 100 pages I read have stayed with me and re-emerge in my daily course of living at strange intervals in weird guises, and I feel I would be a better person for knowing the entirety of the text… I can’t go on (with Heidegger), I’ll go on (with Heidegger)...


In 2015 I plan on tackling Vollmann’s Rising Up and Rising Down, McElroy’s Women and Men, Marguerite Young’s Miss Macintosh, My Darling, and William Gaddis’s JR, and as I said before Gravity’s Rainbow. Those are the major goals. I also am going to finish Ian Bell’s outstanding two volumes of Bob Dylan biography and I’m going to read John Calder’s books on the post-WWII Paris literary scenes (The Garden of Eros & Pursuit, thanks to MJ Nicholls for putting these on my radar)- anyone who has been with me for any length of time on Goodreads knows of my love for things Parisian… speaking of which, I’m also revisiting Queneau and Beckett and Baudelaire for some rereads this year (The past few days I’ve been reading for the second time Queneau’s The Last Days and am just blown away by the subtle layering of plot parallels and humor and wordplay and dream-cubist nostalgia for that lost world…)


In 2014 I encountered books I would not have encountered, read brilliant insights and opinions on such a variety of things that would have eluded my grasp, and have basically been staggered by the level of interaction, thought, encouragement, and resources made available on Goodreads by you guys, my little corner of the Innernet, my invisible ghost friends who read good books and send words out & up into the aether about them… I can’t thank you enough, all you review writers, spade-wielders over in the Buried Book Club, maniacs in the Vollmann Group, and especially the brave souls in the Miss Macintosh and Finnegans Wake groups, shouldering the hard work for us nobodaddies struggling here on the poor spinning Earth…


Again, thank you all, and happy 2015!

[Ian "Marvin" Graye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complete List

Here is a complete list of the books I read in 2014:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Below is an overview.



Long Weekend Immersions

In the Land of the Long Weekend, sometimes we get an opportunity over three or four days to read a large book that would otherwise take weeks or months.

If you can get through 200 to 300 pages in a day with relatively little interruption, you can achieve a lot in three or four days. (I also fly interstate for business once a month.)

This is hardly skim reading. It's usually quite intense and demanding, and always quite selfish. However, it is doable, especially once your children are a bit older and more independent.

Immersion can be like watching a replay of a football game on fast forward or watching American football without all of the stoppages. It allows you to focus on key words, sentences and themes, and then to capture and document a response while it's still spontaneous and fresh.

In 2014, I managed to immerse myself in:

James Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake" (the ultimate play with words, though it must come to an end, to enable additional and more play)

Rabelais' "Gargantua and Pantagruel" (a revelation)

Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" (quintessential)

Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy" (as funny as I recalled from my school years)

William T Vollmann's "Rising Up and Rising Down"(RURD) (too impressionistic, poorly researched and undisciplined for my liking)

William Gass' "The Tunnel" (Funnier and longer than, but inferior to, Saul Bellow's "Herzog")

The first four readings are part of a personal project in which I am exploring the hypothesis that there are only two substantive macro-movements in the history of the Novel: Realism and practices that challenge Realism or draw attention to the processes or fictionality of the Novel (let's call it Modernism).

My hypothesis is that what we describe as Post-Modernism is just a variant of Modernism (i.e., although it purports to react and respond to Modernism, it is really only just another response to Realism).

Modernism is effectively a roof over many variants of rebellion against Realism or concerns with form.

Modernism develops generation by generation. In the academic reaches of literature, some generations inflate the differences between themselves and their predecessors in the game of musical (or professorial) chairs that constitutes academic careerism.

As an interested spectator, what's important is not so much the difference between the acts, but that the circus must go on.

Fiction Written by Women

About 20% (19) of the books I read in 2014 were written by women.

I started off the year with readings of the following novels:

Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" (also enjoyed "Quartet")

Anna Kavan's "Ice" (an eyeopener)

Eleanor Catton's "The Rehearsal" (a brilliant first novel)

Virginia Woolf's "The Waves" (I really regret being intimidated by her until 2013)

Christine Brooke-Rose's "Amalgamemnon" (had only read about her until a few years ago)

Maggie Estep's "Diary of an Emotional Idiot" (Very entertaining. I must read more of her and more recent women writers)

Midway through the year I thoroughly enjoyed two novels by Angela Carter that had everything I seek in fiction:

"The Passion of New Eve"

"The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman"

I hope to re-read both novels regularly. They're that good!



Sadeian Women: Women's Perspectives on de Sade

Later in the year, I did a thematic reading of three women writing fiction or non-fiction about or inspired by the Marquis de Sade, his writings and his philosophy (in conjunction with my readings of Vollmann, Robert Coover and John Hawkes):

Simone de Beauvoir's "The Marquis de Sade - An Essay" (Hope to re-read "The Mandarins" in 2015, as well as some of the books about her relationship with Sartre)

Rikki Ducornet's "The Fan-Maker's Inquisition" (I want to read more of her in 2015)

Angela Carter's "The Sadeian Woman" (I've enjoyed Angela Carter's fiction and non-fiction enormously, and now regard her as one of my favourite writers)

I found these books far more subtle, stylish and insightful than Vollmann's writings about de Sade, transgression and sexuality generally.

Hegel

My longest, most difficult and most frustrating (but ultimately most satisfying and rewarding) project was reading and reviewing Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit" and several secondary works in preparation for it.

I missed Hegel on the way to Marx at university. I studied political science, rather than philosophy proper. I wanted to understand why Marx respected Hegel so much, but nevertheless felt the need to turn him on his head.

I would always recommend reading some secondary works before reading a primary text by Hegel, even if they misguide you or misshape your priorities and perceptions (both of which happened to me, although by comparison and contrast, you hope that eventually you will get back on track).

Hegel is more problematical, because the translations of his style are very difficult to read (although every now and again a sentence or concept will blow your mind). He is more needing of annotations than James Joyce or Thomas Pynchon or William Gaddis.

This project wore me down. But I emerged with a better understanding of some key ideas that I can build on with further reading.

I am particularly interested in the subsequent reception of Hegel in France and Germany, as well as the US.

This is a foundation for further reading of works by Marx and Engels (on dialectical materialism and alienation), Heidegger (on Being and Mitsein), Sartre, de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, Lacan and Zizek (which will hopefully form the basis of my non-fiction reading in 2015/2016).

I had delayed reading Zizek until I had a better understanding of Hegel.



William T Vollmann (Mit Oder Ohne Jouissance?)

I read seven works by Vollmann in 2014.

I didn't read these works in any preconceived chronological or other sequence. Initially, I felt that each work fell between four and five stars. However, as I read on, and this serial immersion started to reveal obsessions and flaws, I grew increasingly frustrated with what I was reading and the relative absence of criticism of his work.

Some readers and critics should just stay away from Vollmann. He will never appeal to them. However, there are many other readers who would appreciate his work, if it was less self-indulgent and better executed.

Vollmann is about two years younger than me. Ironically, there was a similar age difference between him and David Foster Wallace.

I share Vollmann's passion for living, thinking, reading and writing at the intersection of sexuality, morality, culture, law, politics and philosophy.

I respect the polymathleticism that his lifestyle permits him. However, ultimately, I question whether he is as brilliant or as insightful or as skilled or as empathetic as he or his fan club seems to think he is.

He is what I would call an autodidactilletante (but so am I). He takes himself and his obsessions (and therefore has managed to persuade hundreds of readers to take him) far too seriously (but so do I).

Vollmann seems to work on the assumption that, if you give somebody (of our generation?) a studio, a computer, internet access, a passport, a crazy mate (like a photographer or an architect or a lawyer), an expense account, the luxury of not having to hold down a real job, a headcam, a bar fridge, a gun, a transgressive wardrobe, a baseball cap (reversed), freelance gigs with a monthly magazine (before Spin, it used to be Rolling Stone), and an audience that aspires to be (or recognises themselves in) you, then you will become the latest:

* Jack Kerouac

* John Steinbeck

* Woody Guthrie

* Norman Mailer

* Charles Bukowski

* Tom Wolfe

* Hunter S Thompson

* Lester Bangs

* James Ellroy

* all of the above.

I wish DFW was still around to tell Vollmann how embarrassing he has become. He's really just the naughty flipside of Jonathan Franzen. DFW sought desperately to find a way to relate to the world and other people. At least one of Franzen's protagonists wants to correct how the previous generation went about it. In Vollmann (at least, what I have read so far), you won't find one functional relationship between two people. His version of freedom is the freedom of a lone ranger without commitment.

Nevertheless, Vollmann has transformed himself into a product of the internet era. He must sit plugged into cyberspace for hours on end, between train trips and trips to the bar fridge.

Really, he has achieved the ultimate blogger's dream. He can type whatever and however much he likes, and we'll lap it all up like kittens.

It would be so much easier to do it all online. I wonder why he bothers with the book format. I don't think of his works as separate books anymore. I think he's just writing/typing one big work, because he can't stop, except for a drink or a piss.

His work is often a collection of discrete portraits, stories and/or essays. Little unites them but the binding (or the fact that they share the same author).

His work lends itself to being published on separate pages of a website, so we can read them more discretely and selectively as one work with daily or minute-by-minute updates and annotations. We could plug ourselves into Vollmann. Pretend to be him! Only we wouldn't have to swallow 700 or 3,000 pages whole at a time.

This way, Vollmann wouldn't need to write books that contain everything he knows about everything (plus a few bonus fictionalisations of everything he did or imagined doing with whores or crack or trains or ghosts since the last book).

In this cyberspace environment, it wouldn't matter how long his works were. It wouldn't matter how much shell there was for each rare and tiny pearl. It wouldn't matter whether he edits them. They would just be there! We could stop writing self-congratulatory reviews about the fact that we actually finished reading them, and focus on their subject matter and style! Plus, they wouldn't finish anyway. They'd just keep on appearing, as if they'd been written by a ghost!

Really, though, I'm more interested in the quality of his insight and language.

The more I've read him, the more I've realised how self-indulgent and inconsistent he is. His obsessions intrude like a fart in a yoga session. He's too hit and miss at the moment.

This is sad. It's like observing the deterioration/destruction of an/the American mind. Live.

I've started to feel like I'm still going to Pogues concerts, but I'm more interested in whether Shane MacGowan will collapse on stage. What is this man's use by date? Will his teeth fall out first?

Honestly, I wish Vollmann would just lift his game, so that the reading experience was improved, instead of kowtowing to the taste of his audience of mirror images.

Unfortunately, in the revolutionary fashion that gave us Post-Modernism as a rebellion against Modernism and academic career path for its youthful exponents, he now seems to have been adopted by members of the upwardly mobile junior academia, who diligently fill their CV's with hagiographic essays and links to their GoodReads pages, while bent on careers in Vollmann Studies. I assume that, because he is so multi-disciplinary, it will need its own new Faculty.

Young lecturers will become Associate Professors. Associate Professors will become Professors. Out with the old, in with the new. They must have been reading "The Zizek Progression" to learn how it's done. Only he's older than the lot of us!

Of course, the real potential of the internet is: fire the old bastards, get them off the pot and let somebody under 40 (30?) have a crack at it. Every generation deserves its own drug.

Give me China Mieville (42) any day ("Three Moments of an Explosion" due in June, 2015).

The English seem to do this sort of thing (radical intelligence?) so much better.

Lucinda Williams - "Joy" (Live)
[Dedicated to Unser Bill]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1B4Q...

"You took my joy.
I want it back."




Murakami and Mitchell

Well, that got a bit serious, didn't it!

In stark contrast, I get enormous pleasure and joy out of these two authors. I read or re-read five of their novels in 2014:

Haruki Murakami's "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage"

David Mitchell's "The Bone Clocks"

I read them for literary entertainment. I like the way they play with genre, fantasy, the unconscious, the supernatural (for Vollmann fans, they're a bit like ghosts), connectedness (who would have thought this would be such a controversial concept in an era governed by hyperlinks?).

I like the fact that they don't take themselves too seriously. I like their sense of fun and play. I like their charm! I like these charming men! I respect their popularity and commercial success. It's like writing a song that people want to listen to. Good on them for making somebody's day a little happier and brighter!

[Jason Koivu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I read some good books in 2014, some very good books in fact. However, time and again it was what you read and shared with the rest of us in your honest, funny and eloquent reviews that made Goodreads a pleasurable place to be in 2014. Thank you!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reached my goal of 125 reads, but not my ambition to review them all. I am disappointed I only got in 14% non-fiction. I gorged on mystery/thrillers at 28% of the total and by comparison deprived myself some in a favorite area of sci fi/fantasy, 14%.

World War 1
Earlier in the year I got on a roll of World War 1 historical readings in the group started by Kalliope and Mike Sullivan, “Around WW1”, in honor of the centennial:

--The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914—Barbara Tuchman (diverse scope with surprising depth on characters in the British aristocracy, French radicals, and Americans at odds over growing U.S. imperialism)
--An Illustrated History of the First World War--John Keegan (includes most of the text of his well rounded history, plus, you guessed it, tons of photos, posters, and paintings)
--The First World War—Hew Strachan (best short book on the whole war, including the Eastern Front)
--The Great War in Africa: 1914-1918—Byron Farwell (a pleasurable contrast to European trench warfare, with campaigns involving small numbers fighting over a large continent)
--To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918--Adam Hochschild (moving account of the doomed efforts of war resisters and pacifists)

Some notable reads from fiction that intersected WW1:
--The Sandcastle Girls--Chris Bohjalian (sensitive coverage of the Armenian Genocide in 1915)
--The Flamethrowers—Rachel Kushner (a modern novel of a cipher of a woman who is a performance artist of sorts, with serious excursions in the tale into an arty take on pre-war unrest and motorcycle troops in the war in Italy)
--Leviathan; Behemoth—Scott Westerfeld (fun alternative fantasy history of WW1)

Top 10 fictional literature:
The pomo and classics I delved into did not hit the pleasure meter as much as more recent and conventional narrative tales. The following were published in 2013 or 2014 unless otherwise dated.

--All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr (a blind French girl and German boy engineer survive on their separate trajectories through WW2, but fate seems to compel an intersection)
--A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - Anthony Marra (outstanding tale of a virtual family formed during the Chechyan War)
--True Grit - Charles Portis (1968) (terrific story of a teenaged girl teams up with an alcoholic bounty hunter to avenge her father’s murder in Oklahoma Territory in the post Civil War period)
--Go Tell It on the Mountain - James. Baldwin (1953) (moving story of a boy in Harlem in the 30s torn between the attractions of cultural ferment and the evangelical fervor of his religious family)
--The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert (rewarding saga of Dutch immigrants to Philadelphia in mid-19th century who establish a botanical medicine empire and a daughter inspired to make a career out of studying mosses)
--Annabel - Kathleen Winter (lyrical and uplifting tale of a rural family in remote Labrador challenged by the birth on an intersex child)
--The Guts- Roddy Doyle (the leader of the band in “The Commitments” takes up the midwifery of music again in middle age—wonderful and funny)
--Fourth of July Creek- Smith Henderson (powerful and eloquent story of a heroic social worker in a poor Appalachian setting ends up neglecting his own daughter, who runs away and gets in serious trouble)
--Aquarium—David Vann (stunning coming of age story of a girl raised by a protective working-class mother and a wonderful friendship with an old man at her aquarium refuge which totally freaks her mother out)

Top 5 non-fiction not related to WW1:
I scored big with non-fiction that read like fiction, full of drama and characters that would be hard to invent.
--In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the U.S.S. Jeannette - Hampton Sides (heroic tale of scientific ambitions, human collaboration at its best, and amazing feats of survival)
--Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution - Nathaniel Philbrick (the first phases of the American Revolutionary War are presented with excellent character development and enlightened sympathy for bothh sides)
--The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot - Robert Macfarlane (outstanding memoir/essays on walking trips on ancient pathways in England, Scotland, Spain, and Palestine, full of poetic, biological, and historical perspectives)
--War—Sebastian Junger (2010) (powerful and insightful story of young men in an isolated hot spot in the Afghan War)
--The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother - James McBride (1996) (outstanding portrait of the incredible life of the writer’s Jewish mother and her success in raising a passel of kids in New York City in the 50s)
--Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity - Katherine Boo (2011) (saga of the challenging career and brilliant spirit of a few real-life characters in an extreme slum)

Best sci-fi/fantasy:
I deprived myself with numbers of books
--The Dark Defiles – Richard Morgan (surpisingly satisfying read of this violent and tough sword-and-sorcery fantasy by an author known as an innovator of noirish sci-fi thrillers)
--Dawn - Octavia E. Butler (1997) (top of the line tale of a woman trying to survive an alien takeover of the scant remnants of humanity)
--Enemy Papers--Barry Longyear (2005) (great collection of novels and stories about the human and alien races whose war was featured in the first tale, “Enemy Mine”, about individual fighters stuck on a remote planet who become friends in survival)
--Ancillary Justice--Ann Leckie (totally satisfying story of an AI unit survivor from a distributed ship consciousness who works to save humanity from a cybernetic human emperor whose clones are at war with each other)
--Lies of Locke Lamora--Scott Lynch (2006) (funny and thrilling caper tale of a gang of thieves in a semi-medieval fantasy world who take on a dastardly set of enemies with brilliant finesse)

Best mystery/thrillers:
I binged on 6 Nesbos and 4 Craig Johnsons and struggle to pick one each. The others here are from authors I was already addicted to, so I had to wait a year for the annual payoff of joy. Heroes that feel like family members—Virgil Flowers, Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, Anna Pigeon.

--The Cold Dish - Craig Johnson (2006) (mystery)
--Police - Jo Nesbo
--Deadline - John Sandford
--Personal - Lee Child
--The Burning Room - Michael Connelly
--Destroyer Angel - Nevada Barr

[AH · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful idea - thanks to the person who organized this.

In 2014, I read 177 books, a total of 57103 pages.
27 books were 5 star reads.
4 books received 1 star
6 books were DNF's (did not finish)

Here are my 5 star reads of 2014 -

My reading year of 2014 started off very well. Red Rising set the bar very high for subsequent books. The sequel Golden Son just released and it's even better. But I digress as we are looking at highlights of 2014....

Stolen Songbird made trolls sexy. Who knew? I also listened to Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards series starting with The Lies of Locke Lamora, then Red Seas Under Red Skies, and The Republic of Thieves. The audio version of this series was well done and I highly recommend it.

On the serialized book front, I tackled a few, my favorite and 5 star read was Meljean Brook's The Kraken King. Nicely done.

I was among the majority of readers on Goodreads that enjoyed We Were Liars. Avoid spoilers on that one!

Richelle Mead's Age of X series continued with The Immortal Crown. This is so different from her other books, and well, I love any book that uses Vancouver as a setting.

The Truth About Alice reminded me just how awful bullying can be, especially in the digital age.

June was a fantastic reading month - I discovered The Martian- it should be subtitled MacGyver in Space - in any case, the audio is superb and a movie is planned for this year starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney. Excellent casting choice.

Ilona Andrews' book Magic Breaks was another 5 star read for me. I can't get enough Kate and Curran.

I also discovered a wonder fantasy by Joe Abercrombie - Half a King.

In July, I discovered Barry Lyga's Jasper Dent series beginning with I Hunt Killers. I also read the much anticipated sequel to Cracked, Crushed.

I fell in love with Jamie Fraser for the first time. I had been putting off Outlander for years, just because of the size of the book. I listened to the audio version of the book - totally amazing. Then I fell in love again with TV Jamie.

A little outside my regular genres, I read Henna House, a fascinating story about Jewish life in Yemen.

Some series I had been following came to an end, notably The Hollows ended with The Witch With No Name. This series was my first foray into the world of urban fantasy and I have discovered so many wonderful authors and series that my TBR list is probably a mountain rather than a list.

I was excited to read Ilona Andrews' new book Burn for Me, the first book in their new Hidden Legacy series.

My reading dropped off significantly for November and December because I subscribed to Netflix and I just had to catch up on the series I missed. So we marathoned House of Cards, Breaking Bad, Damages, Luther, Mad Men, Dexter, Lilyhammer, Marco Polo, and The Walking Dead.

For 2015, I've set my reading goals a little lower. I want to read books that I am interested in, and I want to reduce the number of ARCs I request. It got a little crazy in September and October and it just overwhelmed me. Plus, I have a whole lot of books staring at me, making me feel guilty that I can't get to them sooner. Reading is supposed to be fun, not a chore.

[Mariel]

I have no life without reading and 2014 was an awful insomniac version of not reading. At least half the year (though thankfully broken up) I didn't read at all. I hope that's over, more than anything. It would be great if I stayed remembering how lucky it is to love books so much and not spiral into gloom.

My best friends of 2014
Peace by Gene Wolfe
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle
The Spider's House by Paul Bowles
Breathturn by Paul Celan
A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys
Gogo Monster by Taiyo Matsumoto
The Triumph of the Egg by Sherwood Anderson
Opium and other Stories by Geza Csath
Rereading Wolfe's New Sun books too. Do rereads count? Yeah, they gotta.

I liked some others a lot too. Reading ruts are the worst. It is worse than insomnia, really.

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

According to Goodreads I read 218 books in 2014 . . . but since I read all of the Game of Thrones books I think that number should be like 250 ; )

Here's my best and worst list:

Best Book: You by Caroline Kepnes



Best YA - Winger by Andrew Smith



Best Dystopian: Unwind by Neal Shusterman



Best Romance: Almost Like Being In Love by Steve Kluger



Best Horror: The Deep by Nick Cutter (release date TOMORROW 1/13 – go get you some)



Best Cookbook: Thug Kitchen



Best Blog to Book - Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh



Best Short - Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman



Best Graphic Novel - Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory



Best Series - A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin



Worst (meaning these had a lot of hype and I thought they would be good, but instead they sucked):

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg



Girls Like Us by Gail Giles



Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt



Doomed by Chuck Palahniuk



The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan



Many thanks to the lovely Kat for bringing this little gem to my attention and to the equally lovely karen for bringing it to Kat’s attention ; )

[فؤاد · Rating 5 out of 5]

سال خود را چگونه گذراندید؟

خب، از کجا باید شروع کنم؟
...
بذارید اولین کتابی که امسال خوندم رو بگم، چون از لحاظ زمانی مقدمه.
امسال بهار، با کتاب "جانِ شیفته" زندگی کردم. بهار بیرونی، همراه شده بود با بهار درونی، به برکت این رمانِ واقعاً واقعاً زیبا. میرفتم پیاده روی و توی هوای دلنشین بهار، کنار کوه و درخت مینشستم و این کتاب دلنشین رو میخوندم. تجربه ای بود که بعد و قبلش، مشابهش رو نداشتم.

اما نگاه کلی به سالی که گذشت. (البته من دارم به سال شمسی میگم، به خاطر همین بهار رو شروع سال حساب میکنم)
بهار امسال تصمیم گرفتم که فقط به کتابای داستانی نپردازم. احساس کردم من خیلی از کتاب های خوب غیرداستانی رو دارم از دست میدم، خیلی از تجربه های ذهنیِ غیر تخیلی رو دارم از دست میدم، چون اصرار دارم فقط داستان بخرم و بخونم. به خاطر همین تصمیم گرفتم امسال رو "سال بدون رمان" نامگذاری کنم و به کتاب های غیر داستانی بپردازم.
کتاب های افلاطون رو خوندم که بعضی هاشون واقعاً عالی هستن. نوارهای شهید مطهری رو گوش دادم. تاریخ فلسفه ی راسل و تاریخ تمدن ویل دورانت رو کمابیش خوندم و یه سری کتاب دیگه.

تجربه ی خوبی بود، بهتون پیشنهاد میکنم که شما هم همین طور بخونید. البته اگه مثل من کتاب براتون تفنن هستش. نه این که به خاطر دانشگاه یا پایان نامه، مجبور باشید کتاب بخونید. در اون صورت شاید نباید این طور پراکنده بخونید.
ولی اگه کتاب براتون تفننه، خیلی خوبه که موضوعات مختلف، اعم از داستانی و غیر داستانی، دینی و فلسفی و علمی و چیزهای دیگه رو بخونید. هر کدوم از این ها یه حس خوبی دارن که بقیه ندارن و اگه فقط به یه موضوع خاص بسنده کنید، لذت باقی موضوعات رو از دست میدید.

[Warwick]

My reading in 2014 was dominated by two long-term reading projects. The first of these was around the First World War, which threw up so many memorable books that it would be futile trying to list them all – pre-eminent among the fiction was Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End, perhaps the best novel I read this year, and also Pat Barker's The Regeneration Trilogy, which succeeded in transforming a gender-based analysis of the Great War's social effects into spectacular literature. Barbusse's Le Feu and Manning's The Middle arts of Fortune captured the slang and the daily monotony of life in the French and English trenches, while Genevoix's Ceux de 14 (at 953 pages the longest book I read in 2014) was a gruelling immersion into the front lines that I cannot forget.

A year ago I moved to Switzerland, and my other reading project has been to discover a little about the culture and history of this remarkable country. This year I encountered Ludwig Hohl, Franz Hohler and Arno Camenisch for the first time, revisited Max Frisch, and finally read Schiller's Wilhelm Tell. The most remarkable discovery, though, was Pedro Lenz's Der Goalie bin ig, which I read in Donal McLaughlin's extraordinary Scots translation and which I've been recommending to all and sundry.

Other literary excursions were mainly prompted by travel plans, including trips to Spain, Finland, Australia and India. Reading the Finnish national epic The Kalevala was a highlight of the year; as (read for completely independent reasons) was Pynchon's Bleeding Edge.

Of the 59 books I read in 2014, just nine and a half were written by women (half for the execrable Sex at Dawn, co-authored with a man). Thirty-seven were originally written in English, ten in German, four in French, two in Spanish and Finnish, and one each in Swiss-German, Swedish, Dutch and Sanskrit. But only the English and French ones, and one lone German book, were read in the original language.

Overall it was a good year and I'm looking forward to more but different in 2015. ‘For last year's words belong to last year's language,’ as Eliot put it, ‘And next year's words await another voice.’

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Fionnuala for the idea and format of this book! We get to write it ourselves! Fantastic idea!

Ha! There are advantages to being a slow-poke! I only read 34 books in 2014, so it’s easy to give a breakdown. My problem is, I start reading a book and I either get hung up with editorial problems, or it’s so great that I get over-stimulated, and I have to grab a pen and start writing.

Good excuses, but I think I have a little ADD too! Hefty books go on forever, especially since I get distracted with editing or writing. Next year, I’m going to try to avoid books over 400 pages.

In the middle of my reading madness, I had two major happenings. The bad one: My office flooded, they took out the walls, and they didn’t put humpty dumpty back together again for 8 months! The good one: I got a rescue cat named Oliver. He’s a cutie patootie.

In 2014 I had two best books ever. One made me laugh hard, one made me super sad.
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
An Untamed State


20 winners, all 5 stars or 4 stars. Fantastic reads! Some appear in more than one list, which bugs this anal list maker, but that’s just the way it is.

Contemporary Fiction
An Untamed State
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Me and You
The Rosie Project
This is Where I Leave You
One Last Thing Before I Go
The Woman Upstairs
I'm Not Scared
The Other Language
Bark: Stories
I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World

Memoirs
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
The Chronology of Water
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?
Sister Mother Husband Dog: Etc.
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
People I Want to Punch in the Throat: Competitive Crafters, Drop-Off Despots, and Other Suburban Scourges

Short Stories
The Other Language
Bark: Stories
I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World

Poems
I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World
I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats

Graphic
If a psychic had told me last year that two of my all-time favorite books of 2014 would be graphic memoirs, I would have said she was nuts. Ah, love to be proved wrong. Both of these blew my socks off.
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?. A must-read for people handling aging parents.
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened. A must–read for those who want some big-time funny.

Humor
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats
The Rosie Project
One Last Thing Before I Go
This is Where I Leave You
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
People I Want to Punch in the Throat: Competitive Crafters, Drop-Off Despots, and Other Suburban Scourges
Sister Mother Husband Dog: Etc.


A 10-minute read
I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats. Contains poems told by cats, accompanied by great photos. Great gift for a cat lover.

Secret Gems (contemporary fiction)
Both by same Italian author who is popular in Italy, but has never made it big here. Check him out.
Me and You
I'm Not Scared


Now for the mediocre or terrible:

3 stars
A few of these were almost 4 star, but something about them bugged me too much. For others, I frantically checked page numbers. Will this book EVER end? I was the fault finder, so bored or annoyed. Yet, there was some hook that kept me reading.
Eleanor & Park
Calling Me Home
Go the Fuck to Sleep
Big Little Lies
The Floater
The Goldfinch
The Sense of an Ending
A Circle of Wives
The Other Typist
Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety


2 stars
Oh, definitely keeping track of the page numbers here. What was I thinking? I should have stopped mid-stream, but I just had to see how it ended.
Five Days Left
Americanah
True Believers

1 star
Should have thrown the book across the room!
TWISTED ENDINGS: 5 DISTURBING STORIES

Disappointments (2 or 3 stars)
These books got a lot of hype but didn’t do it for me:
The Goldfinch
Eleanor & Park
Big Little Lies
Americanah

I'm finally listed out. You must be too. Lists done, over and out.

[Agir(آگِر) · Rating 5 out of 5]

اول یه پنج ستاره به گوودریدس محبوبم
وقتی این پیشنهاد رو از خا��وم سارا دیدم شکلم اینجوری شد
؟:(
یه علامت سوال تو کله بزرگم
اینکه این مگه کتابه!!!؟
بعد سارا خانوم لطف کردن و توضیح دادن که باید درمورد کتابهایی که تو سال 2014 در گوودریدس خوندیم چیزایی بنویسیم

اما درمورد گوودریدس،سال 2014 عضوش شدم و تجربه خیلی گرانبهائی بود
در اینجا انسانهایی آزاد دیدم که راحت حرفاشون رو میزنن
...کتابهای محشری معرفی میکنند و
که در کنارشون بودن برام افتخار خلیی بزرگیه


و در آخر از همه دوستان ممنونم
خیلی چیزا ازتون یاد گرفتم
یک دنیا سپاسگزارم